The difference between our and foreign cricketers is that while most of our players don’t leave the game till they are kicked out by the selectors, they, on the contrary, correctly read the writing on the wall and call it a day the moment they realise that their reflexes have started taking leave of them and it is about time they retired on their own volition with dignity and vacate their place for the new comers. A case in point is Shahid Afridi. He, is no doubt, a great all-rounder with a record of immense services to his credit for our cricket but he is well past his prime. He has been changing colours like a chameleon on the date of his retirement despite the fact that his age is telling heavily on him for quite some time now and it is in his own interest to call it quits. He is no longer the dashing batsman that he once was, nor his spin bowling is mesmerising batsmen any more. His stature would certainly have increased in the eyes of his fans had he announced on last Saturday after his and his team’s dismal performance against India that he is hanging his gloves after the conclusion of Asia Cup.
The game of cricket has, lately, become a very lucrative business also because a lot of money has been pumped into it. Every cricketer, therefore, wants to make hay while the sun shines and try to prolong his stay in active cricket which is fair enough. But there comes a time in the life of every cricketer when he loses spark in his game thus becoming a liability for the country which he had once so proudly represented at the international level. Afridi has many examples before him where many cricketers of repute decided that enough was enough and left the scene at the time when they could have easily played for a couple of years more for their countries. Look at Gilchrist, Sharne Warne, Tendulkar, Ganguli, Dravid and Sangakarha, to mention a few. They had stopped playing for their countries when they were at their zenith.
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